Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-07-07
MAPPING UNDER MaTER.
Divers Sometimes Sleep on the River Bed.
Vnrl-

Wnen ne was drowned! Never. NOT mas
any other diver"
''Then the tales one hears about such
matters are little OFF,
''They are simply lies. There's more
lying about diving than about any other
occupation"
"Give me straight story"
swell, to begin with, I'll dispose of
that yarn about corpses being found
sitting in chairs in the state rooms of
sunken steamers. I've been in steamers
that were full Of corpses. There was
for instance, tie Hamburger steamer
Cimbria, which went down in the North
Sea some five years ago, with five hun
dred emigrants. I and two other divers
from here, who were sent for to help in
getting out the cargo, literally works d
among hundreds of corpses. TIE ceilings
were lined with them
'The ceilings?"
'Yes sir. A diver working vessel for
corpses feels for them along the ceilings
if the wreck is older than a couple of
days. If he goes into her only a day or
two after she went down, he feels along
both the floors and ceilings. That
is where the corpses are found, not in
chairs"
"Why did they send away over here to
New York fer divers TO go down into the
Cimbria?"
because New York divers are on the
top of the heap. The reason is that most
of their work is done in the dark; for it's
pitch dark under the water around New
York. I suppose its on account of the
sewage. A diver from other waters can't
work in those around New York. But
New York diver can work in the clear
waters elsewhere twice as fast as the
local divers because his sense of touch
sense Of touch is SO finely developed.
We New York divers can tell various met
ais, if they are under water, apart by
se1se of touch; but if they are not under
water we can feel no difference between
them. Here for instance, are piece of
copper and piece of brass. Put them
on the table and blindfold me and 1
can't tell which is which. Chuck 'em in
the basin and pour water over them, and
[ can tell the moment [ touch the pieces
which is the copper and which is the
brass. You see, we have to ply all kiads
of trades in the dark.
"Then you have to be pretty handy?"
eyes, sir, if a green hand came to me
and wanted to learn the profession of
diving, the first thing I'd advise would be
to go to sea till he'd learned the ms and
outs of all kinds of vessels, and how to
handle and store cargo. Then he's pret-
ty competent to handle wrecks. Next
I'd tell him to learn all kinds of trades.
For we don't consider working wrecks a
very fine line of the profession. The
real fine work is when the diver has to
ply some trade such as carpentering of
pipelaying, under water. For instance, a
very fine job was the laying of the line of
pipe for the Health Department from
port Morris to North Brother Island.
The diver had to keep tho line straight,
unpack the pipe, put it together, and in
fact, do in the dark the work of a skillful
pipe-layer."
do you dive much for treasurer
"There's not much of that going on
now. The biggest job Of that kind was
the Hussar. The work on that wreck
had to be done many feet under the bed
of the river"
'Right where she went down?"
Fright where she went down over one
hundred years ago. A wreck remains
on the same spot where first she reaches
bottom. AS years roll on she works down,
down into the bed of the river. And so,
where the Hussar sank SO long ago lies
her hulk. The diver got out the stern
post, but didn't find any treasure. l didn't
believe that any treasure would be found
on the site of the wreck. l have heard
that official documents in England show
that, after the Hussar struck, the treas
ure was loaded into her barge, which up
set from the shifting of some boxes of
the coin opposite red house On Randall's
Island. Some people have a crazy no.
ton that Captain Kidd's vessel with a
vast deal of treasure went down off
Peekskill, and not long ago syndicate
EN- plOyed diver to search for it for two
summers. He didn't find the wreck. Some
divers, who haven't been long enough in
the profession to be constantly employed
and have good deal of time on their
hands, work old wrecks. For instance:
The Commodore, off Stonington; the
Isaac Newton, off Fort Lee, and the
Thomas Morgan, off Yonkers; but there
isn't fair days wages in such jobs.
Sometimes, however, we hear of old
wrecks that haven't been worked yet, and
they are worth looking after. Two years
ago one of US who was building the
foundation for a pier of the bridge at
SaybroOk heard that a schooner loaded
with coal and copper had gone down
there some thirty-fve years ago. He
replaced the wreck and got out the cargo,
which was still in prime condition. But
there are as many lies about old wrecks
as there are about corpse. Whenever a
sailor is thirsty, but hasn't any money, he
concocts a lie about wreck and comes to
Us with it. He almost always goes away
as thirsty as he came"
"What does divers outfit consist of 20
ga boat, pump, hose, lines and dress.
The dress consists of layer of duck and
rubber. The shoes weight twenty pounds
each. On his chest and back he carries
forty pound weig hts. Tho helmet when
1t has been placed over the divers head,
is firmly screwed into a copper collar
that is attached to his dress. 4 weighted
line is sunk to the spot he is to reach,
and down that line be goes with the life
line around his waist and the hose, through
which the air is pumped. attached to his
helmet. Those who handle the lifeline
and hose must regulate these as he moves
about below"
what are divers working day and
his wages?"
-Four hours and Sc. If ne furnishes
his own annaratJ,S his yvarac ,ro birbar-